This invention relates to a method and apparatus for selectively carving contrasting patterns in a textile fabric. It is extremely difficult to pattern a textile fabric to provide visual and tactile surface effects in registry with a color change. The textile fabric contains fibers that are thermally modifiable such as, including, but not limited, to rayon, nylon, polyester, polypropylene, cellulose, polyethylene of both the high and low melt variety, acetate, wool, NOMEX.RTM., and polypyrrole treated quartz fibers.
Various apparatus have been proposed for directing heat such as heated pressurized fluid streams, such as air, onto the surface of a moving textile fabric to alter the location of or modify the thermal properties of the fibers and provide a pattern or visual and tactile surface change in such fabrics. Examples of such prior art equipment and methods of application of the pressurized fluid streams to a relatively moving material are disclosed in the following U.S. Pat. Nos: 2,110,118; 2,241,222; 2,563,259; 3,010,179; 3,403,862; 3,434,188; 3,585,098; 3,613,186. A major shortcoming of this technology is that these carved patterns created by utilizing high temperature pressurized streams of fluid, such as air, to impart visual and tactile surface patterns to textile fabrics containing thermoplastic materials by thermal modification of the same must occur in exact alignment with the previously dyed portions of the textile substrate in order to achieve the full aesthetic effect.
The present invention solves these problems in a manner not disclosed in the known prior art.